Redwood City-based Oracle Corp. won an appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of a 2001 shareholder lawsuit accusing Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison of insider trading and misleading investors. The federal appeals court based in San Francisco ruled that U.S. District Judge Susan Illston correctly threw out the case. Illston found last year that the shareholders failed to show that Oracle deceived them when it said an economic slump led the company to miss forecast earnings. Investors claimed improper accounting practices and unrealistic sales projections were hidden from them while known to senior management. Shares of the company fell 21 percent on March 1, 2001, after the company disclosed that it would miss a fiscal third-quarter profit forecast.

Energy

Pleasanton-based Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. said the U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to proceed with a loan guarantee needed to build a $120 million biofuel plant east of Reno. By 2012, the plant will process municipal solid waste and produce 10.5 million gallons of ethanol and 16 megawatts of electricity annually. The project would create more than 50 full-time and 450 temporary jobs.

Chips

Semiconductor company Ikanos Communications of Fremont closed its public offering of 11.1 shares of its common stock of $1.05 per share. The net proceeds to Ikanos from the offering are about $10.8 million after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses. Ikanos intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes.

Fremont-based Lam Research International sold equipment to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. totaling about $52.7 million. Taiwan Semiconductor is the world’s largest custom manufacturer of chips.

Technology

Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard Co. has a “great lineup” of devices for 2011 based on its Palm WebOS operating software, senior vice president Jon Rubinstein said. Devices in the works include smartphones, printers and tablet computers, Rubinstein said at the annual Web 2.0 Summit Tuesday in San Francisco. The new products are due next year. HP, the world’s largest technology company by revenue, is using new versions of Palm’s Pre phone and WebOS to lessen its dependence on personal computers and revitalize the smartphone maker.